Inclusive Play at Home: How Parents Can Adapt Toys for Children with Disabilities

Every child deserves the joy of play. With just a few simple tools and steps, parents can make that possible right from home. If your child has a disability that makes standard toy switches hard to use, this guide will walk you through how to adapt a toy by adding an accessible switch. No advanced skills required, just a little time, a few supplies, and a lot of love. Let’s make playtime inclusive, empowering, and fun for every child.

Toy Adapting Supplies (for plastic toy with on/ off switch)

• Plastic toy with on/off switch
• 3.5mm female repair audio cable
• Zip Tie
• Wire Couplers
• Bowl/container (to keep spare pieces)
• Wire Stripper and coupler crimper tool
• Screwdriver set
• Double tape/masking tape
• Drill (or hot nail/screw)
• Adaptive switch of your choosing

Instructions:

1. Debox toy
2. Remove all screws on toy exterior
3. Gently take toy apart such that you can access the interior wiring
   1. Remember to keep screws in bowl for later
4. Locate on/off switch wiring internally, and cut wire between on/off switch and battery pack
5. Strip 1 cm from the ends of all four wires, making sure not to cut through the wire itself
   1. If you are cutting through wire, the size you are using is probably too big. You will need to go up one more size to trim properly
6. Strip the wire ends of the female audio jack to about 1 cm
7. Locate where the wire for the new switch will come out from inside the toy. A good location is by the old on/off switch on the exterior.
   1. Test location to see if any drilling is required. Drill or use hot nail/screw in the desired area if needed
8. Going back to the interior of the toy, connect one of the upper wires (by the switch) and one of the lower wires (by the battery pack) with one of the wires from the female audio jack. Bring the ends of the three wires together and gently twist them into one unit.
9. Slide the new combined wire (composed of 3 total wires- 2 interior wires from the toy and the female audio jack wire all twisted together) into a wire coupler, going as far back as you can. Using the front of your multitool (flat part), squeeze the coupler down repeatedly. Confirm secure placement by pulling on the coupler when you are done to make sure it is on tight.
10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 with the other wires (so you now have 2 sets of 3 wires each covered by a wire coupler)
11. Tie zip tie around female audio jack in the interior of the toy. Cut off the excess. This will prevent the cords from slipping out of the toy.
12. Reconstruct toy using the saved screws you set aside in the bowl earlier
13. Put batteries back in and test the original on/off switch. The toy should still be able to be turned on by this original method if you connected the wires properly
14. Connect female audio cable to the adaptive switch and test adaptive switch
15. Enjoy your adaptive toy!